http://www.outandaboutcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/LOGO-for-website-300x144.jpg00Mary Archerhttp://www.outandaboutcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/LOGO-for-website-300x144.jpgMary Archer2016-12-17 18:12:102016-12-17 18:30:252016 end of year fundraiser a success

L and I went out in the morning for coffee – well, I got her a large apple juice which is our routine, she loves that, then on a little drive – before we picked up S. I got him some coffee too, this is funny…I had a destination in mind and as I was driving up Hampden I saw a coffee place I like up ahead so said, out of the blue I guess as far as S was concerned, “Would you like a cup of coffee?” He was sitting next to me in the passenger seat, turned and looked at me and said, “how cavalier of you! Perhaps a cigarette as well?” He cracks me up!!

After that quick stop we went to see a demonstration at a “Wild Birds Unlimited” store. An organization that educates the public about wildlife was there with some live birds – an owl, a hawk and a falcon. S and L stood there watching and listening like they were in a class, and they seemed mesmerized. After that, out to lunch, they both ate a bunch, then we took S home. On that drive (he had been singing pretty much all day by now) L started singing – not sure why this popped in her head, but she sang for us, “..we ain’t got a barrel of money…maybe we’re ragged and funny..but we travel along, singing a song..side by side.” Fun day for me with these two, plenty of joy.

Attached are a couple pictures from yesterday. R was with me in the morning, it was just the two of us and we had some great conversations, he sure had me laughing. Brian had C with him in the morning and we decided to join up at croquet. This is a regular activity for R and me, but new to Brian and C, and they also picked up T on their way who was a newbie also! I think it went well, it was a great day to be outside and at the very least everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves sitting on the chairs in the shade, but they all played a round as well. The organization which hosts this event is Jiminy Wicket, they make us feel welcome every time and are so good to us! It made me laugh when today’s round of croquet was finishing up and T said to R, “I wouldn’t want to play cards with you”, as R kept pretending he was cheating.

We were going to go our separate ways for lunch afterwards but Brian suggested we join up and go to Governors Inn and have lunch on their patio, which I thought was a great idea. They always have good food, and I was really pleased with our round table in the corner; I like when we get tables that aren’t in the middle of all the activity or in restaurants which are too noisy – this was perfect yesterday.

Brian took T and C home after that and R and I walked a lot – all throughout City Park and in his neighborhood as well, before I brought him home.

I enjoyed my day with the guys, thanks for giving Brian and me that opportunity.

Hi All – We had a pretty easy going day, which seemed to fit this group just fine. In the morning I picked up M, A, and D. We met Mary and R at a terrific little coffee place in Park Hill. We found a nice patio in the shade, and got caught up a bit. I have not had a chance to do many outings with A or R, so it was a good opportunityto get to know each other. Conversation rolled, as we sat there enjoying each other’s company. A regaled us with his sailing stories, while D and M shared stories of growing up in the Englewood/Littleton area, and the changes we have seen. Fun morning. We took a quick stroll around Park Hill, commenting on the architecture, and the challenges the neighborhood has faced over ther years. We made it back to the car for a water break, and the drive to Littleton Historical Museum. It‘s always a fun place to visit and our local guys had some memories jogged for sure. Inside the museum we spent a bit of time looking at the 1965 Flood exhibit. D told us that his family had been fishing in Wyoming when it happened and when they drove back and saw the devastation they thought we were at war. Different times back then. We then meandered outside to check out all the newborn animals. We saw the longhorn steer for Als Texas roots, a passel of piglets, and a bunch of pecocks. We also walked by a young child in a Pittsburgh t–shirt. Needless to say, R’s es got big, and he had to talk to him. As it started to warm up a bit, we left for lunch. We went to a local restaurant in downtown Littleton. Basic sandwiches and pizza, but done very well. The restaurant (McKinners) has ton of pictures of old Littleton, which M really seemed to enjoy. Conversation flowed at lunch, with topics from Leave it to Beaver, to shopping and eating local. The table of guys had such wide ranging experiences, it was never boring!

Good day, everyone was engaged, and hit it off great. Looking forward to next time!

S and L and I walked the circumference of the Littleton Historical Museum, there is so much to see on that walk, and yesterday some baby sheep came right up to the fence next to us. S and L, being their regular fun loving, animated selves, started right in imitating the noise all those sheep were making, and the more I laughed, the more they did it! We met B for lunch and had burrito bowls, which were a big hit, and then L and I did a little shopping after we brought S home. L and I did the things we enjoy doing, a nice drive, time outdoors, another good walk (I was impressed by her energy in the heat), and we snacked all day.

I heard her tell a white butterfly today, on our walk, “you need someone to play with”…I think she was right, he flew by all alone! Love her observations.

Such a good day today, it just flowed along. We met at St Mark’s on 17th Avenue for coffee and I brought goodies for us to eat as well. We sat out in that sunshine on that big patio for quite a while, talking talking talking. It was easy and comfortable and natural and enjoyable. Then we all walked slowly up and down some of the side streets there; the houses are really great to look at, historic and interesting. One of them happens to be a “castle” (Castle Marne) and I rang the doorbell to see if they’d let us in to snoop around. The staff person who answered – it’s a B&B – had been baking bread and took a break to show us around, what a treat.

We decided around 12:30 that we’d like to continue being out in the nice weather, so I asked D if we could bring sandwiches and hang out in his back yard for a while…so that’s what we did! Bunch of friends having an impromptu picnic – we picked up sandwiches, chips, fruit and drinks and that was it – nice and simple. After that we took a little drive and brought everyone home.

http://www.outandaboutcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/LOGO-for-website-300x144.jpg00Mary Archerhttp://www.outandaboutcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/LOGO-for-website-300x144.jpgMary Archer2016-06-01 01:57:532016-10-13 02:02:34it began with coffee at St. Mark's on 17th Avenue...beautiful place to relax

I was telling everyone about a couple I am caring for who are in their 90s, and how I’d been with them this morning and noticed at breakfast they were flirting with each other. B said, “well then it was a happy meal”!

D had a funny line in the car on the way to lunch. I called the restaurant and told them we were on our way, and they agreed to hold a large table for us. After I hung up, D said, “they must not have realized it was us who were coming.” We all laughed and I said, “Yes! You noticed I didn’t give them my name?”

Lots of chuckles all day long…

T on our walk, stopped in his tracks, turned to me and said, “this is perfect”, then motioned to all the beauty around us. I agreed, the temperature today was so good for a walk and we were out in some great big open spaces with lots of trees. We were on part of the Cherry Creek Trail, we began at the trailhead at the “17 Mile House” in Parker. We walked for about 45 minutes, had snacks and drinks which I’d brought for us to share, then we went to the noon IMAX film, then to a late lunch. I was surprised how much everyone seemed to enjoy the film, it was simple and peaceful, about apes from different parts of the world. There was something calm yet entertaining about it.

After lunch we were loading up the two cars to head home when a waiter ran out to us with both a hat and a pair of sunglasses we’d left at the table. Yikes! B said, “at least we didn’t leave any people behind.”

We reminisced a bunch today about past trips, I was really pleased by how well many of our group remembered outings we’ve done, even a year or more ago. It encourages me to keep on planning, keep on going, keep on daytripping, and touring, and spending quality time together.

I genuinely enjoyed all our time with the group today, thanks for helping us make that happen.

We had a really good day today. It was “one of those”, just clicked right along, full of energy. I didn’t have the morning tightly scheduled, I wanted to leave it up to their requests – donuts or a walk or whatever, but the stars aligned, we didn’t have one minute of morning traffic, and I realized I’d be near Wash Park in time for a good 1/2 hour of croquet, so we went. It’s indoors now, and the course is smaller, and the game is quicker. The five of us walked in and were immediately swept into a game. Well, the four of them were, and I happily noticed the coffee bar where I got myself a latte and cheered them on. B played well again today, and when I pretended to be interviewing him about his secret, he said, “Well. I’m left handed.” Ok! Maybe that’s it!

It’s wonderful how there is a reliable group of volunteers at the croquet, to make us feel welcome and to keep things moving.

Then to pick up D and to lunch. Conversations today – whoa, we covered religion, (here’s for deep thought..) I asked “does anyone know the difference between Lutheran and Catholic”? R: “Yea, Lutherans have better Bingo.” One of the guys said outloud, twice, “I wonder if maybe I can get through the whole day today without losing anything”. They all pretended to be begging me for donuts in the morning, the more I refused the funnier the joke got. They talked about “Syd King” – made them all giggle – moonshine, the recent tragedy in Paris, the early days in Englewood, and on Broadway,(the restaurant was filled with photos that brought back memories for many of them), car racing, motorcycle racing, on and on..

After lunch we had plenty of time and made our way to the History Colorado for the talk by “Dr.Tom Noel.” He was introducing his new atlas about Colorado and had plenty of stories, lots of photos on his powerpoint (which I always think makes these talks better), and more than a few laughs.

http://www.outandaboutcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/LOGO-for-website-300x144.jpg00Mary Archerhttp://www.outandaboutcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/LOGO-for-website-300x144.jpgMary Archer2016-01-15 20:06:582016-06-30 20:28:07We heard Dr. Tom Noel today, speaking about his new book on Colorado history